Children of the Leaves
by Nowhere Man2
Summary: Years after the crisies of Pein and Akatsuki, the next generation of Konoha have their own plights to deal with. Will they rise to glory like their fathers, or face bitter defeat? Many OCs.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Simple.

**

The ninja of Konoha stood in near silent ranks, dressed in simple black robes. Almost the full civilian population of Konoha stood behind them. The world around them was still, not a single animal sound or breath of wind stirred. While the ceremony was short, it stretched out like an eternity as the multitude either sobbed or stood stupidly in shock as Uzumaki Naruto, the Seventh Hokage was lowered into the ground. Words were said, telling of the great man that many thought was indestructible, and the far from auspicious beginnings that he had. The ceremony was closed as flowers were placed over the resting place of the blond haired ninja.

As the crowd began to disperse, Kazama Takashi dabbed at his eyes with a sleeve and looked to his teammates. The young man was tall and athletic, with long brown hair pulled into a short ponytail. At the age of sixteen he was one of the rising chunnin of Konoha, a weapon user that few doubted would reach jonin someday. His green eyes, normally bright and full of light, were red-rimmed and glistened with unshed tears.

Akira, the short and powerfully built earth user and squad medic, looked back at him with disbelief in his eyes of no specific color. His close-cut red hair stood at odd angles. Myabi, the normally reserved intellectual, sniffled and tried to hide her tears. Her dirty blond hair that fell to her waist looked like she hadn't even tried to brush it, and her bright blue eyes were puffy. She made a slight movement with her chin, to which Takashi nodded slightly.

The young ninja began to push his way through the milling crowd to the grave site, reaching the front he caught a glimpse of the one he was looking for. Kiyoko, the daughter of the former Hokage, stood next to her mother. The sight of her with her shoulders slumped and her blond head with its shoulder length hair down to the ground killed Takashi as he approached. Her shoulders heaved up and down as she sobbed for her father. Takashi fought his own sadness as he drew closer.

Sensing him, Kiyoko lifted her head and turned to face him. He felt a blow in his stomach as her electric blue eyes met his. Her eyes, normally so full of life and joy, were clouded with grief and made Takashi feel like someone was trying to disembowel him with their bare hands. Taking the last few steps at just below a run, he wrapped her up in a tight embrace and she buried her face in his chest. Her racking sobs resounded in his chest as she wailed, her hands curling into fists on his back.

Looking up, he locked eyes with Kiyoko's mother. Hinata, the daughter of Hyuuga, she studied him with eyes that pierced even through her sadness. It was easy to tell that her stoic face belied the true feelings that ran below the surface. Takashi himself felt the loss drop upon him like the leaden skies above and he buried his face into Kiyoko's hair.

Naruto had been an amazing person for as long as Takashi had known him. No matter how busy the man seemed, he always managed to join in with the kids as they played ninja. As the children grew, he would share his sort of wisdom with the attentive audience. He remembered everyone's name and no one felt the lack of a friend while he was present. If the village came to danger, Naruto would stand before it like a great impenetrable shield to protect his precious people.

The sounds of grief against Takashi slowly began to abate and he felt the girl in his arms start to sag. Eventually he came to look into the Kiyoko's eyes, and tentatively kissed her softly on the forehead. Releasing her from the embrace, he murmured "Come see me later, okay?" with a shaky voice. Kiyoko gave a nod, squeezed him ever so slightly, and slowly made her way back to her mother. Takashi watched the pair leave before turning for home himself.

Entering the small apartment that housed him and his mother, Takashi slipped into his bedroom and locked the door behind him. Walking over to his desk, he checked the small clock that sat there before sweeping most of the items on the surface away. Howling in rage and pain he proceeded to tear apart his room.

"Anyone!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "It could have been anyone but him! You didn't even fucking stop at just killing him did you!? No! You had to fucking rip him up so badly-AURGH!"

Eventually stopping himself, he began to take stock of the damage he had done. There were several holes punched in his walls and virtually everything smaller than a breadbox had been swept, kicked, or thrown across the room. Sitting heavily on his bed, he began to take out the multiple equipment pouches that lay under his bed. Takashi began to pull the multitude of kunai, shiruken, and various other sundries from the small packs. Laying the gear in neat rows he rounded out the collection with a pair of overlarge kunai and a broad short sword from the back of his heavy vest.

Taking out a cleaning kit, he began to meticulously clean and oil each weapon. The repetitive action began to return him to a more balanced head space. 'Take care of your equipment and your equipment will take care of you' ran through his head as he repacked each deadly piece of his style. Getting to the short sword, he honed the blade to razor sharpness once again. Replacing the weapon to its sheath, he checked the clock that had miraculously not been swept away, nearly three hours had passed since he had returned. The sky outside was dark and a weak moon passed between the drifting clouds overhead.

Despite how drained he felt, Takashi began to slip into the standard uniform of Konoha. Sliding into the heavy vest, he felt the reassuring weight of the heavy fabric and three blades strapped across the back. Making sure that his forehead protector was securely tied as a bandanna over his head, he headed out of his room. Skirting around the dinning room table, he put his hand on the door knob before a voice stopped him cold.

"Where are you going?"

Takashi turned to face his mother, "Out."

"I can see that."

"I just need to check on something."

A moment of silence passed between the two as his mother regarded him. It would be useless to try to convince the woman, she was more stubborn than a mountain, it was much better to let her make up her mind. "Breakfast is at seven." She said finally, giving Takashi a time to be home by to keep himself out of trouble.

"Yes ma'am." the teen answered before heading out into the night.

As Takashi walked down the lighted streets, he saw the bars were full of people either raising toasts, telling stories, or just trying to reach oblivion. Grief hit people in different ways, and for a moment he wished he could join those souls, drinking until he couldn't feel his face anymore. Even if he could, he told himself, he had much more important things to do. Rounding the corner he found himself looking up at the great red building that held the office and home of the Hokage.

Moving into the shadows with practiced ease, he eventually got himself into a position where he was concealed but could observe the area. With his eyes locked on the structure, he settled in for what he hoped would be an all night wait. The moon rolled out of the clouds, bathing the area in a bluish-white light. Takashi sank further back into his hide, and waited patiently until the clouds once again concealed the light.

From across the courtyard, there came the faint sound of a window opening. Takashi leaned slightly out of his hide for a better look, and spotted a dark figure moving away from him and headed across the town. The figure had shoulder length hair and carried a large rucksack. Cursing through his teeth, Takashi dropped quietly from his hide and gave chase.

Takashi was sure he knew who he was chasing, and hoped that he was wrong somehow. Suddenly, his target stopped in a small wooded park, out of sight of almost anything outside of it. The moon swept out from behind the clouds again as Takashi stopped a few yards away. Golden blond hair swayed as Kiyoko turned back to face him. Her eyes locked on his, they magnified the set look on her face with an intensity that could cause fires.

"What are you doing?" she finally asked.

"Stopping you from doing this." despite the level response, Kiyoko's eyes flashed with intent.

"You wanna fight?" she was already dropping into a stance.

"I'm not gonna fight you."

"You can't stop me then."

"Is this," Takashi paused and closed his eyes, bracing himself for how much this would hurt. "Is this what he would want."

"Did...did you just use my dad against me?" Kiyoko demanded in a mix of shock and rage. "You bastard! You fucking bastard! How could you-"

"I'm not using anyone against you," Takashi returned angrily. "I'm asking you if you seriously think that he would want you to abandon the village for revenge. There'll be a mission for that."

"I won't be on it," Kiyoko was near tears and only barely not screaming. "It's the only wa-"

"No goddamn it!" Takashi bellowed, taking her by surprise. "It's not the only way. If you think that you're not going to be on the mission, do what it takes to make sure you are. Con, beg, demand, if you really feel so strongly, you'll be on that mission."

The silence between the two was stone heavy. It was as if the universe had closed in on the two of them. When he finally continued, his voice was subdued. "Don't make me have to drag you back...please."

"You...you don't know what it's like," Kiyoko said in an equally quiet voice. "You just don't know."

"You're right," Takashi admitted. "I don't know what it's like to lose your father...but...I do know what it's like to lose a man that you would follow into Hell itself. The whole village knows it."

Takashi closed his eyes again, against the tears that were slowly forcing their way out. He wasn't grasping for things to say, it was true. Every man, woman, and child that knew the Hokage was felling the keen loss of the man. He had been such a presence to the village that many questioned how they would be able to go on. Opening his eyes again, he once again locked eyes with Kiyoko. "Don't think you are the only one who has to shoulder this burden."

With that said, Takashi crossed the few yards that separated them and pulled Kiyoko into a tight embrace. He felt her arms slowly encircle his waist, and small hands grip him through the thick layers he wore. Once again, she was crying into his chest. "I'm here for you," Takashi's voice shook. "I don't want to lose you too. Not now, not ever."

Kiyoko looked up into his eyes, streaks of tears gleamed in the moonlight. Her glistening eyes searched his. Takashi wasn't sure of what she was looking for, not like what he said was different from what he felt. After several moments, he leaned in to kiss her forehead but she pulled away. She stayed within his arms, not wanting any further interaction.

"C'mon, I'll take you home." Takashi said after several minutes.

Kiyoko nodded, and took a tentative step out of the embrace, but her knees buckled almost immediately. Over the past few days she hadn't been sleeping well and it was pushing the edges of her endurance. She cursed herself, she hated for Takashi to see her like this, looking so weak. Without a word Takashi crouched, back to her and hands out behind him.

Kiyoko sighed, and slowly crawled into a position where he could lift her up. As she left the ground, she leaned her weight across his back. Without a sound of complaint or exertion, Takashi set off back to the Hokage residence. As the embarrassment of her moment of weakness faded, she reveled in her contact with him.

Though she mostly couldn't feel the warmth of him through the many layers they both wore, the side of her face rested against his neck and the scent of his hair was inescapable. There wasn't any real smell to him to tell the truth, maybe that was why she liked it so much. He kept clean and never added the kinds of products that some of the boys that tried to gain the favor of the girls. It might have very well been his lack of girl-pleasing efforts that attracted her to him. Where as the fact that her father was the Hokage had caused some to be interested, or turned away, he had shown an indifference of who her father was and instead was interested in her and her alone. When he went to her father he told him that he wanted to take her on a date, he spoke as if it were anyone else's father, not the leader of the entire village.

Kiyoko's musings were interrupted as she noticed them drawing close to that great tower that had been her home for longer than she could remember. She knew that in less than a week she and her mother would be living in the Hyuuga estate, or maybe they would call a small apartment their own. Another wave of crushing sadness came down upon her and she found herself crying into Takashi's hair before she knew it. He gently set her down, and sat on the ground next to her. For the third time in twenty-four hours, she found herself crying into his chest and his arms tight around her. Despite the fact that she felt weak every time she showed these emotions, it felt far better crying into his chest than into her pillow.

Calming down, Kiyoko looked around and found that Takashi had set her down under the window that she had left from not too long ago. Gathering her up in his arms, he brought her up to the open window on the second floor. Setting her gently into her room, he turned to go, but she grabbed his wrist to stop him. His green eyes met hers and she felt a pang in her heart, another stab for being weak. But she needed someone to be with, no matter how weak it made her.

"Please," she said in a quiet and shaky voice. "Could...could you please stay with me?"

"Yeah." Takashi answered softly.

Kiyoko's heart felt lighter, not by much, but it was wonderful that she would not be alone tonight. Takashi stepped into the room quietly, taking care to not alert anyone that any activity was happening in the dark room. Kiyoko smiled as he turned away so that she could change into he pajamas, he was such a civilly minded guy, even if it was just her taking down her pants and removing her jacket. He, on the other hand, stripped down to his waist and left his gear neatly stacked next to the double bed.

Sliding under the covers, Kiyoko shivered slightly at the cold caress of the soft fabric and reveled in the warmth as Takashi slid in behind her. He gently slid his right arm underneath the pillow beneath her head, and draped his left over her waist, drawing himself close to her. Kiyoko could feel his gentle breathing in her hair, and as much as she wanted to stay awake to enjoy his closeness, she began to drift off almost immediately. She fell into a deep sleep, for once mercifully free of the images that had tortured her for days.

Takashi heard her breathing grow slow and deep, and her hands were limp in his. The faint smell of lilacs filled his nostrils from her hair. Burying his nose into the back of her neck, he felt the warmth of her body flowing through him. The door opened silently, a thin crack of light streamed into the room, and Takashi grew worried that he would have to start explaining real quick.

Uzumaki Hinata peered into the room, much more of a motherly action as Takashi knew that she could have peered through the walls just as easily. She looked at him, her pale lavender eyes staring right into him. Silence held between the two until Kiyoko shifted slightly in her sleep, then Hinata nodded to the young man that held her daughter and closed the door behind her.

Takashi breathed a slight sigh of relief, it was one thing to know that your daughter was dating someone and another to suddenly find them in bed with that someone whether you liked them or not. He listened to the breathing of the girl in his arms, so deep and rhythmic, and suddenly found himself drifting off to sleep. As his eyes closed, he wondered when the inevitable mission of returning the favor to the Hokage's killers would take place, there would be Hell to pay for hurting the one that he held so much.


	2. Departure

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (insert obligatory joke here)

**

Takashi cracked his eye open, sunlight was streaming into the room. The girl in his arms lay still and quiet. Shifting slightly, he looked over his shoulder. From the sunlight streaming in the window, it was a bit past seven. As gently as he could, he slid his arm out from underneath her and rolled out onto his feet. Crouching next to the bed, he quickly pulled his gear on, stretching as he went. Walking around the bed, he looked down to Kiyoko's sleeping face. As much as he wanted to reach down and brush the blond strands off of her forehead, or kiss her, it was probably better to leave her sleeping.

Quietly moving across the room, he unlatched the window and jumped out of it. Sticking his hands in his pockets he walked across the grounds around the tower, and out the open gates to the area. The sky was clear of clouds, as if the rest of the world was telling the village of Konoha to carry on. People milled about in their morning routines, not as if everything was normal, they had an unmistakable heaviness to their strides. The town would heal and move on, much like it had in years past when tragedy struck.

Takashi turned down a path he knew well. It led out to the training grounds where he had spent countless hours honing his skill by himself and with his teammates. He passed the thick wooden targets that were scarred with multiple weapon strikes and jutsus used on them. The trees swayed with the wind, some releasing their leaves to the force of nature. Takashi felt the breeze against him, his clothes and hair rustling fitfully.

Through the trees, he saw a lone metal flagpole standing tall against the blue sky. Turning for it he walked another path he knew all too well. While he was blessed with not having lost a close comrade to death, some of the others of his generation had not been so lucky, there was also his father. Kazama Yoshiro. His father had been killed not long after Takashi had been born, and Takashi had never known him. There were times that Takashi wondered about his father, what he was like. His mother's stories told him about what his father had done, but stories told him little about the day to day of the man.

Coming into the clearing where the monument stood, he saw that he wasn't the only one there. In front of the monument stood a pink-haired woman, who turned as he drew closer. The leading medic of the village, and former teammate of Naruto, Haruno Sakura smiled slightly at him as he stopped at the monument.

"Morning." she greeted him without her usual cheer.

"Hi." Takashi answered dully.

The two stood silent, staring at the monument and the newest name that occupied it. It was hard to accept that Naruto had been killed, but his name carved in the cold stone was a stark testament to the truth of it. Seeing it made Takashi want to scream, curse, and rampage over the wrongness of it again, but that would only serve to dishonor the names that the stone bore.

"Y'know," Sakura began quietly. "When we were just barely a team, not even one really, he said that he would have his name on the stone. It was before he knew what it was, but...eventually even I was certain that one day he would be right. Knowing him, I'm surprised that it didn't get there sooner. He always had to protect the people that he considered precious, and when he became Hokage, it became everyone."

Takashi hummed slightly, staring at the names that he recognized, and those he didn't. They were all ninja of Konoha, and they all had been killed in the line of duty. Some were great ninja, others were the solid middle, others still were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Regardless of how they died, they died for the village and deserved to be remembered for that alone. There was no need for individual stones, with mini biographies stamped on them, most wouldn't want those anyway.

Takashi felt the medic set her hand on his shoulder, he looked over to her as she tried to smile. "I know that he wouldn't want us to cry for him, but that doesn't make it easier not to. You're so sure that you can handle someone dieing, you're trained to block out you emotions, but it never works like that.

"I still expect to see him, y'know?" The pink-haired woman turned back to the stone. "Heading out of Ichiraku or just slouching around somewhere, he had terrible posture. He was real great with kids, probably because he was one. I miss all that, no matter how much it could get on my nerves sometimes, there was no other way that he would be."

Silence descended on the two again as Takashi turned back to the monument also. The legacy of being a ninja stared back at him. It didn't matter who you were, whether you were a good person or a jerk, you could be reduced to a name on a stone in an instant. He caught himself wondering who had people who mourned them, and who they were in life. How many people were just like him, whose closest memory of their father or mother was a name on the dark stone of the monument.

"Well," Sakura finally said. "There are patients I need to see to."

Takashi nodded slightly as the woman turned to go. He turned to go as well, it wouldn't do any good to just stare at a rock, it wouldn't make any part of the pain go away. Following the medic nin back out of the place of remembrance, he turned to one of the small corner restaurants that he frequented.

Coming back into the main area of the town, it seemed completely different than when he had went to the monument. Almost as if someone had hit a switch, the people going about their routines suddenly had a little more energy in their strides and held their heads higher. Takashi had seen what caused such a radical change firsthand once. It started with one person saying something with a smile on their face instead of sadness, remembering something that happened that was happy instead of sad. The feeling would spread from person to person until only those close to the tragedy felt it still, and in time that would heal too.

"There 'e is." A voice behind caused him to turn.

"We were wondering where you were." Myabi waved him over.

Takashi jogged over to his teammates and Hotaru, the jonin that led their squad. He had spent enough time alone with his thoughts for the past few days, now it was time to interact again. Besides that, his team all in one place meant the possibility of a mission. Though the likelihood of that mission relating to the Hokage's killers at this stage was low, having something to do was certainly preferable to just sitting around.

"About time we found you," Hotaru remarked in a semi-serious way. "We have a mission to the Lightning Country. We're to conduct intelligence gathering regarding the ones who killed Naruto."

"Are you serious?" Takashi burst out. "How did we find their locale so quick?"

The rapidness of the mission was startling at best. There were three possible explanations, all of which ranged from not good to downright sickening to think of. Firstly, the village could have been fed the information and any team attempting to gather more information would be walking into a trap. Secondly, and it hurt Takashi to think of it, there were members of the village that knew about a plot against the Hokage, and wanted to tie up loose ends. Thirdly...

"We didn't," Hotaru answered with a slight edge in her voice, she didn't like this any more than the rest of her team. "We're sending out a blanket search."

Takashi winced as he thought of the manpower that such a search would require. Save for a select few of the countries whose ninja were aligned with Konoha and would assist, the search would go everywhere. Even countries that had no ninja village could hold either information or the wanted ninja themselves. Though Konoha and Kumogakure were not at war, there was certainly no love lost between the two.

"We will be accompanying an undercover team and will standoff to provide support should they run into trouble," the jonin continued. "We'll be departing in a couple hours."

With a sigh of relief, Takashi nodded before turning for home. While Myabi was one of the best ninja minds in Konoha, Akira could set up listening posts with his earth techniques, and Hotaru knew a variety of jutsus that could mask her presence from an enemy; Takashi was limited to weapons and support jutsus for those weapons. Many of his techniques ranged from somewhat flashy to impossible to miss from a few miles, and as such his utility in an undercover capacity was limited.

Taking several large leaps, he reached the rooftops of the village and darted down several blocks and swung effortlessly up to the windows of his room. Quietly sliding the glass open he smiled lopsidedly to himself. It was just a little ridiculous sneaking into his own room, if his mother were home she would know that he was there anyway. Even if she wasn't, leaving a note that he was leaving on a mission wouldn't deter her anger, or retribution when he returned. Not to say that his mom still ruled his life, she would want an explanation and that interrogation was one that he did not look forward to.

Taking a moment to calm himself, he set about his methodical way of packing for an extended mission. Changes of clothes, extras of his expendable equipment (mostly weapons), field rations, and various other sundries slowly made their way into a well-worn olive drab backpack. The entire packing process took all of a half hour, Takashi left the pack on his bed and vaulted back out of his window and ambled down the street, looking for something to get into. Far from suffering pre-mission jitters, pre-mission boredom was already firmly set into his mind. Takashi had quickly learned that unpacking and repacking his bag would only make it more likely for things to be left behind, and with a long mission into a fairly hostile area was to court disaster and death.

Picking a store at random, he ambled between the racks of clothes and brought himself into a section dedicated to T-shirts. Shuffling through the rack he found the token 'I swear to drunk I'm not God' shirt and chuckled to himself.

"I guess it's sufficiently Takie." a voice said behind him.

"You think so, too bad everyone wears one like this." he answered with a grin turning to Kiyoko.

She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt with a Konoha leaf, her forehead protector was tied loosely around her neck, simple yet functional, 'and damn good looking' Takashi thought. She smiled slightly back at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. It was apparent that she was trying to get back to normal, but there would be a ways to go. The use of her nickname for him as a descriptor of the shirt was one of the signs that she was trying, and for that he was immensely relieved.

"They're sending me out for a mission." Takashi said, replacing the garment on the rack.

"I heard, take care of yourself."

"Always, baby," he drew her into a loose hug and looked into her eyes. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Not if I wait at the wall for you." again the slight smile, and Takashi missed the usual broadness of the expression.

"C'mon, you know that I can't stand a woman who pines for me." He paused for a moment, normally he would add that one way or another he would return, considering what had happened it wouldn't be the best thing to say. He hastily slapped a smile on his face that he hoped looked more sincere than he felt. "I'll be fine, and worrying about me won't help, but thanks for the offer."

Kiyoko pulled him closer, burying her face in his shoulder. She sighed deeply, her boyfriend was leaving on another mission. It wasn't that long ago that she realized her mother's fears every time her father left. She fought back a wave of sadness, every time her father went out, she was convinced of the man's immortality. No matter what happened, her father would come home. As soon as she felt something akin to fear whenever Takashi left on a mission, she began to realize what her mother went through every time her father left.

It was wrong to assume the life of a ninja was regular and predictable. There was no such thing as a regular mission, thinking like that got ninja killed in the field. The best thing to do, her mother told her, was to hope for the best and live every day like the worst would happen tomorrow if one's opposite held the dangerous occupation of a ninja. Shifting her head slightly, Kiyoko kissed Takashi where his neck met his shoulder. There was no way that she wanted to break their pose, and it lasted forever and not long enough at the same time.

Takashi kissed her back on the jawbone, and pulled away slightly. Wordlessly, he took her hand and led her out of the shop. Taking several turns, he brought her out to a secluded river bank where the trees ran almost all the way up to the water. Selecting one, he plopped down in a crook between its roots and invited Kiyoko down to his lap. The water babbled by, as it had done for years, but it still seemed special somehow as she took him up on his invitation. Wrapping his arms around her waist as she sat with her left shoulder to him, he leaned back against the tree and pulled her back to rest on top of him.

Kiyoko draped her right arm over his shoulder, and brought her left around behind his waist. Reveling in his mere presence, she slowly drifted off to a dreamlike state, and for a moment it all went away. It felt like her grieving mother, dead father, and the gloom of the village was all just a bad dream. Still it ground at the back of her mind, and she felt like this could be the last time she saw him for real. Clutching him tight to her, she wished that someone would come over the hill and tell them that the mission was canceled, but that was a weak thought and hope. A ninja's life was missions, the hard and the relatively easy, no matter what they felt.

After a split-second eternity, Kiyoko turned her head up to Takashi and kissed him. At first their lips met tentatively, then with vigor. She opened her mouth slightly to deepen the kiss and he responded in kind. A shiver ran through her body as one of his hands reached down to pass over her buttocks. Unzipping his vest, she reached under the heavy fabric and pulled his shirt up to feel his tight muscles and the soft skin that covered them.

Kiyoko turned to face him completely and put a hand behind his head to keep him from escaping the now searing kiss. He in turn held her and slipped his left hand up the back of her shirt and rubbed the supple skin just underneath her bra. Smiling inwardly, he brought his left hand around from the back and ran a single finger gently between her breasts. The move caused the young woman to shudder, and Takashi almost grinned through the continuing kiss, Kiyoko hated it how he knew how to press her buttons and she didn't know his.

A loud swishing sound brought the two instantly out of their personal Icha Icha story. Takashi drew his short sword, made ever so slightly more difficult than normal by the front of his vest hanging open. Kiyoko dropped into a hybrid stance, part standard taijutsu, part Hyuuga Juken. The combination made her appear almost dangerously off balance, but Takashi knew from personal experience that this was far from the case. He cursed at himself for allowing himself to become so careless, even in the safety of the village an enemy ninja could gain access if they tried hard enough, and focused on the three that had appeared so suddenly.

Kiyoko relaxed visibly when she realized that the three were his teammates and sensei, as much as she insisted that they were a team of equals he couldn't stop himself from thinking of her as their teacher. Akira grinned mischievously as Takashi returned his short sword to its sheath with virtually no effort, Myabi looked at Kiyoko with a knowing look in her eyes, and Hotaru smiled as the two blushed.

"If you start," Takashi pointed at Akira to keep him from starting a certain children's rhyme. "I will demonstrate my blade sharpness on your balls, and I heard those can't be fixed even by the best of you. What's up, or did you just want to bother me?" he turned to face Hotaru and Myabi who stood more or less together to the side.

"They pushed the mission up," Hotaru explained. "No worries, it's just that the infiltrating team is ready and so the mission got pushed up since I know you wouldn't be out here if you weren't done. Grab your stuff and meet us at the gate quick as you can."

Takashi turned to Kiyoko as his teammates disappeared, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. Her hands slipped under the still open vest to respond, and she squeezed him hard enough he could swear his ribs creaked. Takashi wanted to comfort her, release her from what plagued her mind. As much as he wanted to, he knew that it was a forlorn hope, the loss of her father was way too immediate on her mind.

"Hey," Takashi said quietly as he squeezed her a little tighter for a moment. "I'll be okay. Only time there's gonna be any problem is if the recon guys screw up." It was stupid to say, especially to a fellow shinobi. Even a student at the academy knew that a backup team could be discovered as they waited for word from the primary team. Numerous compromised missions were done so from the backup team to the lead. Kiyoko's look matched his thoughts as she pulled away.

Takashi gave her a quick peck on the forehead, something they did. Superstition factored into most ninja's routine for going out on a mission. So as much as the two wanted to close with a more passionate farewell, neither had come to harm when their final goodbyes were low key. Turning away, Takashi jumped away and took the expedient route of tree branches and roof tops. Winging his way into his room, he scooped up the olive colored bag and shrugged into the straps. With a quick check he made sure that the bag wouldn't interfere too much with his weapon draws before leaping back out his window and raced to the large gates of Konoha.

Skidding to a stop, he greeted the two teams already assembled there. Hotaru nodded and yielded to the jonin that led the recon team, and thereby the mission. Over the next few minutes the elite ninja laid out his plans for the mission. They included column movement, responsibilities in the column, signals for the column and the upcoming recon period, and background information on the areas they would be passing through and active in. Only the most pertinent information was given out as all the ninja present were veterans of multiple missions, they could fill in most of the blanks by themselves. Wrapping up the briefing, the jonin asked if anyone had any questions, there were none.

Heading out the gate at a pace set for distance, the eight ninja quickly brought themselves up into the trees. Leaping from branch to branch, Takashi scanned the right front of the formation, he hung his hands loose and ready to retaliate with his weapons in an instant. His eyes darted from one place to another in search of traps or possible ambushes, which were still possible even in the territory of Konoha, unfriendly or otherwise. It would be a long several days transit to their operating area, and as boring as it would get vigilance was key.


	3. Hidden foes

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, so there.

**

Takashi sighed as quietly as he could, scanning the inky blackness of the forest around him. It had been nearly a week at the mission's operating area, and now he and his team held back at a camp near the midpoint between three of the larger towns in the Lightning Country. There had been no word from the recon team so far, and the limits of the camp allowed no training beyond simple exercises. Something moved between two trees, it moved at a walking pace at ground level. Takashi observed from the vantage of a tree limb twenty feet up, if it were just someone out on a late night hike they were likely to pass completely pass by the camp.

"When the fire burns." The shadowy figure called softly.

"The Konoha dance." Takashi answered.

The figure turned to Takashi and leaped up to join him on the limb. Takashi recognized him as Rokuro, one of the recon team, immediately. Leaning in, the two held a whispered conversation. The recon member told of a probable lead that the team would be following up the next day and that if this didn't turn anything up that they would be departing the next night. Takashi and said he would pass it along, and checked to see if Rokuro had found any likely areas to move the camp to closer to the target village. Receiving several such locations he bade the recon ninja good luck and resumed his watch as the other stealthily made his way back to his team.

The minutes dragged into hours, and the hours felt like days. None of the traps laid out around the camp made a noise, set off flares, or exploded. Despite that, Takashi felt himself growing tense, straining his senses to detect anything out of the ordinary. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to relax, but not lower his awareness around him, his active imagination could sometimes be his worst enemy on these watches. The darkness and lack of noise mutated in his mind, causing the slight sounds of leaves rustling to become the sounds of approaching ninja. Settling back to a somewhat above bored level, he waited for the sounds instead of trying to anticipate them. If the sounds were to be heard, he'd hear them.

Finally, Takashi's internal clock told him that his watch was up. Dropping silently from his vantage, he stole silently to Akira's tent. With a directed whisper he woke his teammate, and waited as the chuunin dressed out and took up the watch. Passing down all that had happened during his watch, he sarcastically bade Akira a fun watch before crawling into his own tent . Laying awake for a while, he hoped that the mission would end soon and he could be back with Kiyoko for some time.

**

The team woke with the rising of the sun, and after a brief meeting, they packed up their camp and began the move to one of the areas near where the recon team would be following up the lead they had found. Leaving their bags in a hidden area, the four moved to the edge of the forest, and each member picked vantage points that covered the village from three angles and their rear for security. Takashi scanned the village and found two of the recon team strolling about the streets with a nonchalance that belied how tuned in they were to their surroundings. Watching them, Takashi rechecked his weapons as far as proper placement and readiness for instant use, it would not do to slip up now.

The two shinobi under Takashi's eye slowly made their way for each other and linked up without a word or hand gesture, one followed behind the other by several meters and never looked where the other did. Taking a turn up a side street, the two disappeared from view. Shifting his weight slightly, Takashi found a slightly more comfortable position and looked over to his teammates. He couldn't see Myabi from his perch, but he caught the slightest sliver of the deep maroon that Hotaru wore and the top half of Akira's head in the rear guard area. Turning back to the village, he looked for any sign of the pair he had been watching and for signs of the other two.

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion rocked the village and sent birds of all kinds scattering from the trees around the four ninja. Takashi tensed, and waited, hand on the short sword at the small of his back. If the recon team had run into trouble they would signal. Long moments passed as the four looked for any indication that the team in the village needed their help. Then a red flare went up from the explosion area. Without waiting for the go ahead signal from Hotaru, Takashi leaped from where he hid with Myabi right behind him.

Zipping along the few rooftops that separated the trees from the blast site, Takashi saw multiple forms leaving the burning ruin. Feeling roof under his feet again, he launched left after the closer group. The three combatants resolved into Rokuro and two masked ninja, locked in close combat. Waiting for his moment, Takashi struck like a snake, hurling shiruken from between each of his fingers to break up the action. Landing in a crouch beside Rokuro, he eyed the two nin.

One was tall and broad, with a myriad of interlocking tattoos down his lower arms, the only thing visible on him. The other was just as tall, but lanky and definitely female. She carried an excessive amount of equipment pouches around her waist, shiruken holsters on both legs, and a straight katana over one shoulder. Both of the masked ninja wore blank forehead protectors. Standing on rooftops separated by a narrow alley, the four ninja watched each other and waited.

Without warning, the enemy weapon user hurled a half dozen of deadly implements. The two Konoha ninja leaped clear of the projectiles with relative ease. Flipping near the top of his leap, Takashi watched the hostiles disperse. The weapon user followed him, and he drew two kunai from his holsters in preparation as two more salvos of the deadly implements winged his way. With several deft swipes of the blades he removed the threat, and began his own.

Drawing another six kunai from the equipment bags at his waist, he threw the eight knives in two sets of four. "Kunai bunshin no jutsu." he muttered to himself along with several concealed hand seals.

Takashi's opponent deflected the first four easily enough, but when she swung for the next four, her blades passed through the illusions of the first. With no time to react, she took one in the left shoulder which was stopped neatly by her armor and another in the right hip which didn't penetrate deeply, not much power behind it..

An audible sneer came from the woman as she made ready to attack again, then the blast tags on wrapped around the kunai handles began to burn. Forcefully withdrawing both of the blades, she dropped them and jumped away. Looking over her shoulder for where she was landing, she saw the six other knives thrown at her were smoking too. "Fu-"

With a thunderous roar, the eight blast tags went off. The flaming blasts buffeted the woman, tearing several of the laden equipment pouches from around her waist and eating away at the fringes of her clothing. Landing hard on her left shoulder, she rolled a good ten meters before laying still. Gathering herself back up, she slowly levered herself up to a crouch before standing fully again. One long burn ran up her arm, another across the back of her neck, and a third on her leg in the gap between sandal and pants. The last one made movement a little painful, but not impossible.

Takashi, wanting to end the fight quickly, gave the woman no time to rest. Launching himself airborne, he drew six shiruken and launched them with deadly precision and speed. Flipping so he was oriented for a landing, he sent another two waves of the deadly stars to cover the possible escape routes. Setting down near a roof edge, he drew his short sword and closed the distance in several quick leaps across rooftops.

Sensing the approaching danger, the woman jumped away, covering herself from the handful of weapons that came her way with her sword. Takashi jumped up to meet his opponent, and the two traded strikes and counter strikes. While his opponent had the longer weapon, Takashi's shorter blade was much more agile, allowing him to block and strike back more rapidly. Several of his swings got through, most were minor, but one went deep to sever her bicep.

Crying out in pain, she dropped her sword and drew a kunai with her left. Takashi dodged the wild swipe, and made a backhanded cut across the tendon just above her wrist. The kunai slipped from the woman's grasp, clattering against the rooftop, the end was inevitable. Returning his sword to its sheath, Takashi smiled slightly. "Now, that's better. So, who are you working for?"

"Go to Hell." she muttered through clenched teeth, kicking out at him.

"Whoa, whoa," Takashi said mildly as he dodged the weak attack. "I just wanna know."

"Have your little victory with me," the venom in her voice was just about palpable. "Konoha will fall. Not one of you little bastards will survive."

Takashi looked over to see how Rokuro was doing. The other Konoha ninja had his opponent caught in a spider web of wires that dismembered the enemy with the flick of a wrist. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the yellow assembly flare rise from near the edge of the forest. Turning toward the signal, he left the injured woman behind on the roof top and sped along the roofs to rejoin his team.

**

"...When the recon team entered the building, they encountered six ninja with no identifiable village markings. One of the enemy ninja blew the building almost instantly, allowing the recon team to disperse and signal for assistance from the support team." the two teams stood in the Hokage's office. Konohamaru sat behind the desk, chin resting on folded hands. The jonin in charge of the recon team gave a clear report of the overall mission, then it would breakdown to individual members.

"The six ninja were led by a jonin, the remainder were mid genin to low chuunin. When the support team arrived, they moved to further split the enemy formation. Elements of both teams engaged enemy ninja, individual action reports to follow."

As the members of both teams ran through their own reports of how their fights went, Takashi subconsciously reordered what he was going to say. There were several points that did not need repeating, and some of the information began to seem more and less pertinent as the reports piled on. Looking to the man that had been named the Hokage in their absence, he saw the strain of the job already resting on his shoulders. The job of Hokage involved balancing concentrations of ninjas on assignment and remaining in the village, and shifting enormous amounts of paperwork so as to keep abreast of constantly changing tactical and strategic challenges.

"After coming to assist Rokuro," Takashi began almost without realizing it. "I engaged a weapon user of high genin to low chunnin skill and ability." recounting his fight in detail, Takashi also provided analysis of what weapons and technique were used.

"You left your opponent alive?" the question was for clarification.

"Yes," Takashi answered. "I had ended the fight with several disabling wounds and the recall was given, leaving no time or need to kill my opponent."

"Very well." Konohamaru sighed. "Get some rest, we're scaling back the max effort to more manageable levels so we won't drain or coffers." the man managed a small smile. "Good work."

Leaving the Hokage's office, the ninja split up to go their separate ways. Takashi wasn't sure if Hinata and Kiyoko had moved to the Hyuuga estate, or to a place of their own so he headed home first. A shower and a fresh set of clothes would be so nice. Musing to himself all the way home, he was still well lost in thought when he walked through the front door, right into his mother's rage.

"Well, I'm glad you made it home safe, but why the hell were you not here before you left?!" the furious redhead demanded. Takashi remained silent, standing still in the doorway. Although he was a ninja, and a chunnin at that, his mom still scared the shit out of him when she was mad like that. "You're lucky you can use blind love as an excuse." she said, much calmer now. "There are chores to be done, wash the dishes, clean out the oven, clean your room..." the list went on as Takashi groaned inwardly.


End file.
